VHP leaders, saints to discuss Ayodhya verdict today

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has convened a meeting of the central committee of seers in Ayodhya on Wednesday to take a final call on the verdict in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

The 41-member committee will meet at the Karsewak - Puram camp under the chairmanship of VHP supremo Ashok Singhal and his lieutenant Praveen Togadia.

Prominent personalities who will participate in the meeting include Jyotishpeeth Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, Gorakshpeeth chief Mahant Awaidhyanath, Ram Janmbhoomi Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Swami Chinmayanand and well known Ayodhya based sadhu Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti , who is also a former member of Parliament of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While the committee will announce its decision later in the afternoon, it would be followed by a larger conference of Ayodhya seers on Thursday.

According to VHP's local spokesman Sharad Sharma, "Today's meeting is significant as it is the first time after the high court pronounced its verdict in the Ayodhya case that so many Hindu saints are assembling under the VHP banner."

He said, "Since the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had taken a formal decision to take the Ayodhya battle to the Supreme Court, it became imperative for us to discuss the issue and take a final decision."

In its verdict on September 30, the three-judge special bench of the Allahabad high court had ruled that the disputed 90 ft x 120 ft plot of land should be divided into three parts between the three litigants.